


Worthy

by oz_cocoa



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Soldiers, DL;DR, Multi, Profanity, Self Insert, Self-Indulgent, Temporary Character Death, The Summoner is Me/a Self Insert, Will add relationships as they appear, friendship is important, innuendos, self indulgent af, which is canon by the way, will add characters as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-09 11:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10411170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oz_cocoa/pseuds/oz_cocoa
Summary: You bet that I'd always dreamed of something like this in my escapist fantasies, so it would be a surprise to some that I was Not Happy At All when I found myself in another universe entirely with a cheerful red haired girl telling me I was some prophesied Hero. It was everything I'd ever wanted it to be except that I'm not actually a hero, but here I am. But as much as I try to convince them otherwise, the people of Askr, and the Heroes I summon really do think of me as the one of them. No matter how much I try to convince them that I'm not cut out to lead, or that I shouldn't be thought of so highly, the Heroes always push back. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, is that my biggest obstacle in this for me, is myself. That the only way we'll all come out of this okay is to prove myself worthy.





	1. The Legend

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm enjoying playing FE:Heroes so far! And now I want to make a self-insert. Anyway, the chapters will vary in length, and they may not always be in chronological order, but there it is! There also will be romance, but it won't be the main focus. (Unless when you review you tell me that you want it to be, but somehow I doubt that will be the case, lol.)
> 
> Read and enjoy! I hope you all have fun!

I was dreaming. You know those dreams where they’re semi-realistic and you can actually tell when you’re dreaming? Well I was having one of those. And no, before you ask, it wasn’t lucid dreaming because even when I’m aware that I’m asleep I still can’t control my dreams. (Unfortunately) I paused in my dream when I felt my environment in the waking world change. I was felt as if I were being squeezed inside a tube, and the temperature change to be much colder as if a strong wind was pushing against me like I was flying through the air. 

My eyes fly open, and all of a sudden I'm stumbling to the ground. A ground which happened to be outside. In broad daylight. On a stone floor patterned in some formation of Celtic knots. I hissed softly as I brought my stinging hands up from the ground to inspect them, and see that there are scrapes from my landing. 

"Oooh, you're here?! Then the ritual actually worked?" said a girl's voice from close by.

Ritual? I'm not a demon! Though to be fair I might look like one when I'm woken up unexpectedly. Like now. And I know I look grumpy and tired even when it's not unexpected, or early. That's what I've been told, anyhow.

"Ahem! Oh Great Hero from another world! Thou hast come so far to fulfill our legend! 

Great Hero? Oh boy has she ever got the wrong person. This is all one very huge mistake on her part. I'm just an out of shape university student who's barely scraping by because of severe depression and anxiety. I'm not a warrior. Though from a very young age I've always wished I was one, which turned into a hero complex that I'm still trying to disabuse myself of. I always wanted to be the knight and not the princess, so in my escapist daydreams I always wanted something like this to happen to me. But the truth is, I'm not cut out for it. It's just not realistic. I can't be expected to save anyone else if I can't even save myself. ...No matter how much I wish it was otherwise.

"For our kingdom now stands on the very brink of ruin, and thou... And thou..." she faltered in her previous enthusiasm.

I looked up. So she's finally starting to realize it huh? I'm not who she was looking for. 

"Hold on. Are you really our Great Hero? You don't look like the thee and thou type."

You don't say? 

"That's because I'm not," I respond dryly. "Anyway, where is this, and how did I get here? I know you mentioned a ritual, so is there any chance that you could do one to send me back? I'd really appreciate-

"What's that?" she interrupted me with a panicked expression. "You want to know where you are and how you got here?" the red haired girl continued pasting a strained smile on her face.

She's completely ignoring my last question! And on a completely unrelated note, her speech pattern just changed.

"Fair enough. You're in-"

"Found you!" a man's voice boomed out from behind me. I started.

"Drat! How did one of those Emblians get here already? Stand back! I'll take care of him somehow!" she said to me, but her gaze was now focused on a axe wielder that seemingly came out of nowhere. You'd have thought that either of us would have heard approaching footsteps on the stone floor, but apparently not.

After gazing between the two soldiers I quickly scrambled behind the girl and cursed my defenselessness. Here was someone around half a decade younger than me who was going to fight for both of our lives, and there was nothing I could do to help. 

She didn't sound particularly confident about it either. 'Somehow'. Geez, that's reassuring.

I quickly scanned our surroundings. To my left was a stone pillar-statue near the edge of a cliff in the same Celtic knot-fashion as the floor, only with the design of a tree, and a hole in the center of it. Don't tell me that's where I came out of, no wonder I felt like I was being squeezed. Nothing on the ground to use as a makeshift weapon, and nothing besides the pillar-thing to hide behind for cover so I'm not a hindrance. To my right was a Roman? Greek styled temple? Gah, those styles look similar and I am by no means an art history buff even though I took art in high school and could tell you what Renaissance, Baroque, Gothic, Impressionist, and Rococo art styles look like - anyway off topic!

With a wordless battle cry the girl charged forward and brought up her own axe - didn't notice that before - in a wide arc towards the lone soldier, and he blocked it with his own. After a brief stalemate she disengaged, and jumped back, but nearly just as swiftly he followed with his own swing, going for her side but she dodged and swung her axe up behind his unguarded flank. 

Her axe met its mark, buried in the back of his neck, snapping spinal cord from brain. An instant death.

I stared at the scene horrified. I just saw someone die. I just saw someone killed right in front of me. This wasn't a movie or a period drama. It was real. I've just witnessed a murder.

After wiping the blade of her axe on the corpse, because that's what it was now - oh god, oh god, that person was alive just a minute ago - she refastened it through a loop on her belt and turned to me with a bright smile. 

What.

"I'm sorry you had to see that!" she said cheerily. 

I can't believe this. Even though I know she's just putting up a front to try and reassure me, I can't believe it. How could you even pretend to be unaffected by something like this? She just killed someone! This is doing the exact opposite of what she intended.

At my silent stare she continued seemingly unbothered. "My name's Anna! I'm the commander of the Order of Heroes."

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Back the fuck up! Commander?! 

"We believe that the Heroes should live free. Our enemies, however, enslave them - the fiends. This realm has gateways to the worlds where Heroes come from. Have you heard of the World of Awakening?"

Maybe, that sounds vaguely familiar.

"How about the World of Birthright? Or the World of Conquest? There are so many more!"

Now hold on just a minute! Is she talking about Hoshido and Nohr? Am I in Fire Emblem?! Am I really in some new world or game in the Fire Emblem series?! I figured out almost immediately that I wasn't dreaming - you can't feel pain in dreams. But this can't be real, can it?

"The Emblian Empire invades those worlds and binds their Heroes to service. We fight for their freedom! That soldier was from the Emblian Empire, which will soon invade our neighbouring kingdom, Askr. I was desperate for help. I performed a summoning ceremony. And you just appeared out of nowhere. But lucky us! We're going to have to act fast if we want to save our kingdom!"

Alright, I've heard enough. Pinching the bridge of my nose I held up my hand to signal her to stop. "Okay, before you go any further I'm going to have to ask you to stop right there. You're going to have to clear up some things for me. So. You summoned me here from Earth - that's my world, by the way, to Askr. A whole other planet or dimension away from mine. To fight in a war between Askr and Embla to prevent the invasion of Askr and liberate other worlds from their control? All because you think I'm some legendary Great Hero? I think I've got the gist of it but you've got that last point wrong."

"I'm not a hero, in any sense of the word. I haven't fought a day in my life, as I'm sure you can already tell. I saw your doubt." I pinched a fair-sized roll of fat on my stomach to emphasize my point. "I can't do hand to hand combat. My two years of karate with only a yellow belt hardly counts, because it wouldn't do anything to even the least trained solider especially if they had a weapon. Or a thoroughly trained soldier without a weapon. And I can only maybe do archery, but it's been years since I've done either. And the latter only on stationary foam targets with a practice bow at summer camp. It goes without saying that I have done no great deeds. So I'm sorry to tell you, but you've got the wrong person. There are so many other people that are actually qualified that you could summon to be your hero. Like Jackie Chan, Dwayne Johnson, Ming-Na Wen, or heck, even John Cena. But not me."

I continued desperately. "It has to be a mistake. It's not that I don't want to help. But I'm just not cut out for this." I waved at the body. "I nearly emptied my guts when I saw that. I'm not used to war like you are. All I've ever known is peace. And as I've said before, I can't even do martial arts like the people I mentioned. You deserve to get the help that you so desperately need. Really." I forced back the frustrated tears threatening to spill over. "I know you ignored this question before but I know have your attention for sure now. You have to hear me out. You said that you used a ritual to summon me here, right?" I took a deep breath. "So can you please send me back?"

Though most of her face was inscrutable, the look in her crimson eyes was grim, all facades of cheerfulness faded long ago. "I'm sorry. But I can't send you back."

I inhaled sharply. "That's not possible. You summoned me here, that means you can send me back. Cause and effect. For every action there's an opposite reaction. It's a law of the universe. It's irrefutable. Fact." I paused to take deep breaths and calm down a little. Be reasonable. Have room for a little flexibility. "Okay. I'm sorry. But I know there has to be a way for me to return home. So can you clarify what you meant for me, please? Is it that you can't send me back at the moment because you don't know how to? Or do you not have the required materials on you? In which case I'm willing to go with you to find what we need. Or is it that...certain conditions need to be met? But if that's how it is, then we've got no choice but to meet those requirements. So which is it?"

Anna sighed. "I only came prepared to try to summon, not to return so I didn't bother to research on how to actually do that. I've got a feeling that it's the latter but I'm not one hundred percent certain. I'm sorry," she apologized again, looking crestfallen. "I didn't think I'd actually manage to summon this time, much less make such a grievous error. But if you come with me to the castle I'm sure we can work it out in no time!" her expression suddenly brightened again at that last statement.

I thought so. She doesn't seem to be lying either. "All right, lead the way then."

"Great, follow me!" she exclaimed and started off ahead of me. 

I tried to ignore the body as we passed it, but I found myself glancing at it out of the corner of my eye. I don't know the whole story of this war yet, so I don't know what everyone is fighting for. Which means that I have to reserve my judgments for the moment. So for now, he was only a man who got caught up in something bigger than himself, and then died for it. A man, I'm sure, with at least one person waiting for him to return home. 

So I mourned that soldier’s death with that thought in mind.

“I should probably explain further,” I give a hum of assent and she continues. “first thing’s first. I summoned you here using the Divine Breidablik. That’s the name of this relic I’ve brought. It fires something out of it, according to legend, but Breidablik doesn’t look like any bow I’ve ever seen.” she says as she holds it aloft. 

But that’s a gun! What is a gun doing in a fantasy setting?

“The legend also calls it ‘the true key,’ which, if raised high, will summon the Great Hero who can fire it.” 

“That’s it?” I asked in confusion. “If all you had to do was raise it high…I don’t see how you could have made a mistake. But why me? And why did it work only now?” I muttered to myself. I guess that’s something neither of us will ever find the answer to. “Anyway, the Bredablik is definitely not a bow. In my world the kind of weapon it is, is called a ‘gun’ and they’re the standard weapon people use nowadays.”

Anna tilted her head in confusion. “But I thought you said that it’s peaceful where you come from, Earth, wasn’t it?”

“Ah, I guess I should clarify. Earth is the planet I come from, but on it there are seven different continents and many different countries. The one I come from is called ‘Canada’ and while it’s true that it’s peaceful there – one of the most peaceful countries in the world I imagine – but that doesn’t mean it’s peaceful everywhere.” I frowned. “In fact, there are still a lot of wars going on, even in this day and age. Lots of suppression and inequality. So you see, even though I come from a country at peace, the world I come from is far from being all sunshine and roses.” I finish darkly, thinking of Rwanda, Iraq and Iran, Russia and Ukraine, North Korea, and even of the rising Neo-Nazi mentality taking place south of the boarder which is encouraged by the yahoo now sitting in the White House. It is not looking good down there. For any of us. 

“Anyway, not that I know how the mind of a Divine Weapon works, but why would it choose me? I know I’m close to beating that question to death but anyone can fire a gun, therefore anyone from my world could use Breidablik. It’s not like it takes any huge amount of skill or years of training to be able to handle one.”

Anna looks back at me from over her shoulder with a thoughtful expression. “That may be so, but I don’t think any Divine Weapons choose their wielders by chance. There has to be something it likes about you to pick you over anyone else – some sort of quality you have that it thinks makes a good Hero. More specifically, the hero we need.”

“Well, let’s hope you’re right because I honestly don’t know what could differentiate me from anyone else. There are a lot of good people to choose from.” It’s not like my life has been in danger before either, not even I know for sure how I’d react in such a situation. So It definitely can’t.

Ah well, keep walking and you’ll get where you need to be eventually.

“Well, I think I am right!” she exclaims turning around to face me with her hands on her hips. “I raised the Breidablik, and now you’re here! So it's all yours now. Hopefully you can figure out how to-

“Anna! Behind you!” I shout, pointing to the direction we were just headed in. Tell me again why we were going TOWARDS where the danger came from? 

Oh yeah, the castle.

“THERE SHE IS! GET HER!” yells an Axe Fighter.

Of course! I shouldn’t have let my guard down yet. I should have known there would be more on the way, it only makes sense. Well, that ends here.

“Drat. More of those Emblian Soldiers. I can’t defeat them all by myself, and you’re not equipped to help me. You run while I hold them off.” she says while sliding Breidablik out of another loop on her belt, before plopping it in my hands.

That’s not the proper way to carry that thing around, you need a holster for that. And does she ever swear properly?

“Take Breidablik and get out of here!”

“But I don’t even know where to go! And who do I ask for once I get th-

A white light flashed before our eyes.

“What’s that?! That bright light, coming from…”

“Breidablik,” I finished.

Another flash and I held it aloft, spreading my legs slightly apart, right hand gripping the handle, my left keeping it steady underneath from potential recoil. Pointing the barrel towards our enemies I clicked the safety off with my thumb before pulling the trigger. A gray-white light shot out from the tip and from it…came a person?!

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that.

“I am Virion, the finest archer of the fairest of realms. Delighted to be of service!” said a man with dark green-blue hair and a high class English accent.

“Of the fairest of realms” well that’s specific. Before I could introduce myself and tell him the situation Anna interrupted me.

“How’d you do that? You summoned a Hero! You just picked up Breidablik and you’re already able to use it!”

I glanced at her irritated. “How should I know? I just took a chance firing it, and was lucky that this thing was already loaded! With what though is a mystery, but they can’t have been ordinary bullets.”

She interrupted me again. Wow this girl is kinda rude! I already have a shitty self esteem because people don’t listen to me already.

“There’s no time to chat now. This Virion and I need to get to fighting.”

I turned to smile at him apologetically. “Sorry about that. I’m sure you’re confused as to how you got here, but I’ll explain everything as best I can later. Right now we could really use your help though, since we’re out numbered. Though it’s nice to meet you regardless, Virion.”

Virion put a hand over his heart and gave me a quick bow. “Of course, fair maiden, I shall do my utmost to assist you. I look forward to our chat later.” He said, then took a place beside Anna, right in front of me.

Who is this guy? He looked completely unphased! Not to mention polite. I’m not a fair anything right now since I’m still in my pyjamas and have bedhead, no doubt. I am so lucky that I didn't decide to just wear a t-shirt to bed last night.

As I was thanking my lucky stars that I wasn’t as unpresentable as I could have been Anna had taken out the opposing archer, and Virion had shot the opposing axe fighter. 

Oh great, more killing. I thought faintly. Better get used to it. Now there’s something I never thought I’d think.

“We won! And it’s all thanks to you.” Anna cheered.

“Not really!” I called. “The two of you did all the hard work.”

“That’s not true! None of us in the Order of Heroes can actually summon these Heroes. Ha! Never doubted for a second that you were the Great Hero! You’re the one who will save our kingdom!” 

“That is a lie.” I said, though it wasn’t anywhere near loud enough for her to hear my comment from where she was.

“Our order is small, Summoner, but welcome to our ranks. Please help us find more Heroes to assist us. Now that you’re here, I just know that we’ll win our fight against the Empire!”

Wow, I have a title now but you haven’t even bothered to ask for my name? Gee thanks Anna.

Shaking my head, I jog forward a little bit to fall into step with Virion and Anna continues to lead the way to the castle.

“So, you summoned me here, milady?” asks Virion.

“It seems so,” I replied in a bit of a sing-song tone. “Anyway, it wasn’t me on my own that summoned you, but this Divine Weapon Breidablik that did it.” I tell him, lifting the gun to eye-level and patting it’s side a bit. “I just happen to be the person that can use it. And as you can probably tell, I’m new to all this so it’ll take some getting used to.”

The archer smile genially at me. “Well we shall be learning together, shall we not? It will also take some time for me to adjust to these new surroundings. It is in these times of turmoil where one could truly use a friend to rely on. You have my support.” He finished with a wink.

This guy. Bless him for trying to make me feel better.

“Thank you Virion, I’m glad I can count on you as a friend. It really is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Oh!” Anna called before scurrying back to our location. “I also found these on the ground after the fight. Are these the ‘bull-its’ you were talking about earlier?” she asked as she held out a handful of colourful marbles.

“These don’t even look close to being bullets, but I don’t think it’ll do any harm to keep those on us just in case they can be used.” I said and cupped my hands so she could dump them into mine, then I put them in my pockets. Yep, lucky me that I also decided to wear pyjama pants with pockets this time.

“Alright, let’s go!” the redhead declared as she grabbed our hands to pull us forward.

Well. This is going to be an adventure.


	2. The Prince with the Golden Wings

As I later found out, the temple and the statue where I was summoned was located on the border between Askr and Embla, and as it turned out, a day’s journey on foot away from the castle. 

Since we were on a mountain range, no matter how unusually forgiving the terrain up here was, I wasn’t exactly expecting a wagon or a carriage to take us from Point A to Point B. So, I couldn’t help but ask if there wasn’t another way we could get to our destination any faster. The reply I got wasn’t exactly unexpected in that I figured that there were would be an alternate mode of transportation and what it would be, but entirely unexpected in that it was much more worrying and more than a little frightening in the lack of foresight.

~*~*~

“Of course! In fact, if we were expecting anyone other than me showing up then there would have been magicians stationed not far from where we were to take us all back with teleportation magic. But we weren’t, so I just came here myself! I like walking so much better you know, I get sooo motion sick from teleportation, you have no idea-

I stopped. “Do you really not realize how dangerous that is?! How irresponsible?!” I could not believe what I was hearing.

The red haired girl frowned. “What do you mean?”

I exploded. “What do you MEAN, what do I mean?! We were just attacked were we not?! What if there were more of them? What if you weren’t able to summon me at all? You would have had even less backup, that’s what! There would have been an exponentially higher chance that you could have died! What if there was a whole army after you?! An invasion?! You have no way to send a quick word without them! There would have been no question that you’d’ve been cut down before you even got this far if that was the case! There would have been no one to warn your kingdom, and just what would have happened then?!” 

The thoughtlessness. How on Earth was this girl promoted to be Commander?! I don’t care how good of a fighter she may or may not be! Why are they allowing children into the military in the first place?! The sheer…I can’t even describe it. The implications of all of this are deeply disturbing, that had numerous possible explanations. As soon as we got to the palace, I would DEFINITELY be having words with the first of Anna’s superiors that I came across. No questions asked. Besides, my words had to have SOME weight around here right? Since I was supposedly the hero who would become their summoner who was PROPHESIZED to come here.

Apparently I was needed here after all. And it may not be for the reason everyone thinks.

I could feel a headache coming on.

Anna’s eyes lowered at her now touching fingertips, abashed. “I’m sorry. You…you’re completely right. I shouldn’t act so selfishly. I promise to behave in a manner more befitting of my position in the future.”

My anger faded at her earnest apology, though my determination to get to the bottom of this state of affairs did not. “It-“ I paused, then smiled reassuringly. “It’s not completely your fault. But as long as you know why what you did was wrong, and correct it in the future then it shouldn’t be a problem. I feel really bad about how that all came out because I get that you’re still learning, and that your superiors are also at fault here too. They bare just as much responsibility for this as you do if not more. But that also doesn’t mean that you’re completely exempt from blame, okay?” I asked ending lightly, but also wanting to drive the point home.

She beamed at me. “I understand!”

My previous irritation at her was forgotten, and I decided to finally offer my one-sided olive branch, since any ill feelings only came from me at my own confusion and indignation, no matter how well founded they were. I still shouldn’t have taken them out on her. Usually I’m more careful than that. “Friends?” I asked offering up my pinky finger.

“Friends!” she agreed happily while linking our pinkies together with no hesitation.

Either they do have pinkie swears here, or she was really that eager to get along with me.

Great, now I feel even worse.

But to be fair, I didn’t have much to be angry or indignant about in my other life for me to get so worked up at someone else.

I caught Virion’s gaze from Anna’s other side and he gave me a reproving nod.

Ah, looks like all is well, for now.

~*~*~

After we arrived after our day-long trek, though we stopped to rest the night with the three of us taking turn to keep watch. (Yet another thing that made me wonder how Anna stayed safe on her own if she had no one to guard her while she slept, but deciding not to stir the pot even more I kept silent on that subject.) I noted that the castle was also on the flat-topped mountain range, as there had been no change in our elevation in the course of our journey, and it was especially noticeable because of the view. An entire city was spread out filling the valley below us, and it was massive. The sight was breathtaking, and more than once I wished I had a camera or my phone so I could take pictures.

It was also made known to me that the castle was directly across from the place where I arrived, on the other side of the valley, the range being in the form of a crescent.

It’s fitting, I thought. That the highest seat in the country is directly across from, and is facing its most sacred place.

But as of right now I was tired, hungry, sore, and in desperate need of a bath and a change of clothes. As we were ushered past the gates by the current guards on duty I inquired to Anna as to how I could address my most current needs.

“Is there anyway I could wash up, and maybe get a change of clothes before we meet anyone? I’d really like to be presentable.” I asked with a wry smirk to cover my embarrassment. There’s no way I’d normally conceive of stepping inside any sort of palace looking – and smelling – like I currently did, so there’s no way I’d let myself be presented to royalty with probably more than a dozen additional pairs of eyes on me while in this state.

“Oh! Of course, I was just about to suggest that. I’ll be refreshing myself as well, so I’ll have someone escort you to rooms where you can bathe and change as well!”

“Oh thank god,” I praised.

Anna winked. “Don’t you worry about a thing! I’ll take care of it!” 

Once we reached the grand foyer Anna ushered a passing maid over and made our needs known before we parted ways. Anna by herself to the army barracks I assumed, and what I later saw was lavish guest quarters for myself, and Virion I assumed.

Soon, but not soon enough, a warm bath was drawn for me with an array of soaps and hair products lain out for me and the maid kindly pointed out which liquids were for which, and what scents they were. She also even asked if I wanted bubble bath. Clearly I was getting the VIP treatment here. I was ecstatic as well as embarrassed, and I thanked her profusely after I got her name. It was Clementine, and this wasn’t even normally her job either, since she wasn’t a chambermaid or ladies’ maid. I learned that there were different positions or ‘ranks’ a maid could hold after watching Downton Abbey so I understand how flustered she might have been, being asked to attend to a guest like this. 

As it was, I asked for disinfectant and bandages for my hands and feet, before slipping into the claw foot bathtub and let out a relieved groan at the sensation.

After giving myself a few moments to just exist, I let one hand drift lazily over the tops of the bottles and selected the orange blossom and jasmine for my hair, and lavender for my body. Normally, I would have gone for the vanilla bodywash as it was a sweeter scent like I preferred, but also less obtrusive than the lavender. But since I stank to high heaven I went with the strongest scent to get rid of my body odor.

After much scrubbing and lathering, and somehow sticking my head under the brass spout to rinse the shampoo and conditioner, I didn’t let myself linger to further relax – I knew I was on a schedule, and I didn’t want to keep anyone waiting.

Reaching for a fluffy white towel I squeezed my hair before wrapping it around myself and when I padded into the bedroom I saw that there were the four rolls of bandages that I requested, as well as some sort of alcohol for disinfectant and a pristine cloth I assumed was to pour alcohol on to gently clean before just pouring it directly onto my afflicted body parts. There was no gauze and medical tape or fastening pins to keep it all together, but I figured I could manage.

I made my way back to the bathroom with the supplies, leaving the clothes on the bed for now.

First I rinsed my hands under the tap at the sink, then made my way back to the bathtub to run my feet under, before I set to work on them first.

Sitting on a stool I poured the alcohol onto the cloth over the bath and then gently pressed onto the bottom of my feet, any dirt and small pebbles stuck there were long gone. Then holding one foot over the bath at a time I poured the alcohol directly onto them, being careful not to be wasteful. I hissed and swore like a sailor, it stung so much, and then after rinsing them again I carefully wrapped the bandages around them making sure to tie the ends on top of my feet.

Then I made my way back to the sink and repeated the process with my hands. Only, when I went to wrap them I had to split one end of each bandage between my teeth so I could wrap them around my thumbs so I could still move them normally.

I admit, I didn’t know for sure if what I was doing was right so I knew that I would go and see a healer after all of my meetings for the day were over. 

Going back to the bed I surveyed the clothes in front of me before getting dressed. There was a pair long loose white pants with thin gold lines, a navy tunic with two sections of gold piping around the collar, carmine coloured stockings and light weight gloves, as well as a pair of knee-high brown and carmine boots with gold toe-ends. I was also surprised to see a brown leather obi with a reddish-brown belt with a gold buckle to hold it in place instead of…an obiage? No, that was the fabric that went between a kimono and under the obi. What was the thing called? Ah, I would ask once I eventually summoned someone from Hoshido because it wasn’t like I could consult my good friend google at the moment.

And, in lieu of a bra…I was given a peach-coloured corset and lucky for me it laced up the front so I could put it on myself. It was a little loose in the chest area but I was relieved since I would no longer be traipsing out into the great blue yonder without support. It was more than a little embarrassing for me travelling in the outdoors with a strange man without one, but I did my best not to draw attention to my discomfort. I wasn’t sure how well I succeeded but it was all in the past now.

Nonetheless after I dressed sans the leather obi, what a mix of cultures, I had thought not for the first time. It wasn’t in an ordinary way either where plenty of cultures coexisted in one place but were still separate, they really were mixed together. Anyway, after I dressed I fetched the coloured marbles from my pyjama pants’ pockets, as well as my only other possession from my own world – my iPod that I had stuffed into a pocket along with the earbuds as soon as I felt sleepy enough to drift off any minute – didn’t want that to accidentally get chucked in the water if someone decided that they were going to come in and wash my clothes, and stuffed them into my new pant pockets, I picked up Breidablik and I was ready to go.

A timely knock came from my door which opened to some sort of herald, maybe, and Virion in much more formal clothes than mine, though I did specify for something as comfy as I could get. I thought I looked alright since I stuffed my pants into my boots. I couldn’t do anything about my hair or unmade face though which I was frustrated at, but mostly made my peace with.

“This way please,” said the stuffy-looking man. “I will take you to the Prince’s meeting room where you will reconvene with the Commander.”

“Thank you Sir,” I nodded, still acutely aware of the mass of wet hair trailing down my back, then looked to my male companion as we were led away. “You look refreshed,” I commented, never good with smalltalk.

“I thank you, and you yourself are looking well if I may say so.” the duke replied generously. For some reason I never felt small or humble when I found out – nor was I particularly surprised considering his accent and manner – but I still wondered why that was.

I flashed him a wry, crooked grin in return. “Thank you,” I replied hesitantly. I could take a compliment, no matter how exaggerated or undeserved just this once. I was in a good mood after getting clean after all, but in no way was I feeling anywhere near my best.

After a long, most likely one-sided awkward silence, I had to keep telling myself, and I saw Anna standing outside a door just down the hall. I smiled more genuinely at her appearance and struggled not to jog lightly to her side. I was always more comfortable in the company of other girls and women, than I was with men.

More quiet than usual, Anna dismissed the older man before turning to the two of us with a secretive smile and a wink. 

“Great! You’re here. I’ll go in first okay? Wait out here until I give the signal. Oooooh the prince is going to be so surprised! Alright. I’m going in.”

Watching the upbeat commander knock on the door and announce herself before blustering into the next room the aristocrat and I exchanged amused glances before straining to hear the ensuing conversation going on inside. Not like it was hard though, since Anna left the door open ever-so-slightly.

“Commander Anna! You’re alright!” exclaimed the young voice of the prince. I started.

He’s so young. They’re both so young. 

“Of course!” Anna replied cheerfully. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

Well, they must be close if she can talk to him like that.

“Right, of course.” the prince agreed ruefully. “So,” he tried to sound nonchalant. “how did your mission go?”

“Better than expected actually! You see, I actually have someone with me. Two someones actually.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes! It is, Prince Alfonse! The legend is true. I raised Breidablik, and then the Hero appeared!”

I took that as my cue.

Trying to appear as confident as I could be under the circumstances, I stepped into the room.

Taking my place beside Anna I studied the prince in front of me. With blue and gold-tipped hair, blue eyes, and a male variant of Anna’s white and gold armor – and white and navy-lined cape, the boy in front of me looked younger than Anna. I placed him at either fifteen or sixteen years old. He still had a bit of baby fat around the face and it was clear that he wasn’t finished going through puberty yet.

I was concerned. Disquieted. But I tried not to let it show on my face.

“Our Great Hero is here…and can use the divine weapon too! As for what Breidablik shoots? It’s truly wonderful. It fires Heroes right out of it!”

I felt Virion enter the room, and then shut the door completely behind us.

The prince’s eyes light up and I feel a warmth in my heart, melting it a little. 

Oh bugger, I know what that means. 

“Unbelievable. So you’re our Great Hero, come to us from another world. I am Alfonse, Prince of Askr and member of the Order of Heroes. A pleasure to meet you.”

I bowed- no- curtsied- no- fucking hell you stupid idiot. One or the other. You can’t even decide on simple etiquette like this? He’s going to think you’re an incompetent- You damn moron! I winced, willing my burning cheeks to cool off.

“It would seem so. Pleased to meet you Your Highness,” Good, I managed to keep my voice steady. “My name is Catherine with a ‘c’ but I prefer Cate. My friends also call me Cat. I mean, not that we’re friends or anything. I mean, – not that I don’t want to be friends but I don’t want to be presumptuous and- I’ll gladly shut up now. God, I fucked that up spectacularly.

And if you’re wondering why I didn’t give my last name, it just seems that no one else goes by one here so I decided that I wouldn’t either.

A laugh bubbled out of him, of course, I sighed internally. But it lit up his entire face, hunched his shoulders and made him cover his mouth and cough politely to get himself under control. 

There’s that warm feeling again. Any fool could tell that he wasn’t laughing at me out of malice so I tried not to feel too, too embarrassed. I probably wasn’t anything near what he was expecting though. No, I knew I wasn’t. When one pictures ‘Great Hero’ it wasn’t me. I’m not an impressive figure in any sense of the word.

I guess he feels a little silly for feeling nervous, maybe? Not that he was, visibly, but maybe… Well. I would too.

Admiration for him swelled in my chest though, since for some reason he didn’t appear disappointed or disheartened at all despite getting stuck with someone like me. He has a lot of courage.

The prince cleared his throat. “Ahem. I’m sorry to ask this of you so soon after we’ve just met Cate, but I have need of your help. Our order is devoted to fighting the Emblian Empire, which invades worlds where Heroes are from. One of these is the World of Mystery.”

“I have dire news.” This he addresses to every occupant of the room. “The empire has newly taken over that world. We need to make our way to the World of Mystery to free it! And, Commander Anna, there’s one more thing. I spotted someone odd with the soldiers near here. A strange man. Not an imperial soldier. Nor a Hero from the World of Mystery now under their control.”

“A strange man, you say? Did he seem allied with the Emblian Empire?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before. He wears a mask and keeps his face a secret even from them.”

“I see, then shall we go?”

“Yes, please gather the troops Commander. Cate and…?”

“Virion of Rosanne at your service, Your Highness.” He bowed.

“A pleasure, now the both of you will come with me, if you would…?”

I decided to curtsey despite the lack of a dress. It felt less natural to me than a bow, but Virion would probably be scandalized if I didn’t at least make an effort in his presence. It was quite graceful, I think. “Of course, lead the way Your Highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Just before anyone decides to panic, no it is not going to be a SummonerxAlfonse. She just has that ‘omg I must protect this cinnamon roll’ feeling. But in other news, our Summoner finally has a name! Say hello to Cate!
> 
> Fun fact: Catherine is actually my real name – in that it’s my real middle name. And if it was my first name I feel like Cate is what I’d go by.
> 
> I have great plans for this, and I’ve already started world building! So I hope you stick around!
> 
> Anyway, next time we’ll be meeting Matthew, Raigh, Sharena, and Masked Man so look forward to that!
> 
> And oh my god, the Spring Festival. You have no idea how badly I want to write a chapter for that now. But as we are now only two chapters in and it includes so many characters and relationships that we have yet to be introduced to or build! So I think I’ll just write it now, and post it later once the character development has reached where it needs to be for what I’m thinking for that chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Tell me how you liked it, and if there's something you want to see feel free to suggest it!
> 
> Look forward to the next one. ;)


End file.
